“He deserves it for making us anxious that way,” Yates threw in, worsening the situation.
“That is unjust! Why is this happening? You are frightening him!”
Then Hendrix’s face eased.
“I apologize deeply, young guy. We never intended to frighten you. We are not arriving to drag you any place you refuse to visit, much less discipline you regarding how you treated Rhys.”
I felt Kyler’s grip on me loosen a little.
“We arrived exactly to celebrate you regarding your courage.”
I blinked.
“Pardon?!” Yates snapped, yet nobody gave focus to his remark.
“We brought another person along who wishes to talk with you,” Hendrix mentioned.
Before I could answer, the second soldier opened the door again.
And everything changed.
A woman walked in, and I knew her at once.
“Tasha?” I asked, puzzled. “What is actually happening right now?”
Tasha, Rhys’s mom, said sorry. “I never planned for things to appear this way. I simply needed to act. Since when I collected Rhys previously, he refused to quit chatting regarding the walk. He shared with me all the thrilling details!”
Kyler froze beside me.
Tasha went on, looking straight at Kyler now.
“Rhys mentioned he volunteered to stay back. Yet you refused. You stated to him, ‘While we remain buddies, I will not ever drop you back.’”
My chest swelled again.
Tasha’s eyes shone as she said, “Plus after that you pushed forward.”
The office stayed completely silent.
That was when I understood… this was not about a punishment.
This was something else entirely.
Something I still did not fully grasp.
Tasha’s words hung in the room.
Then Hendrix picked up where she left off.
“We were familiar with Brant, Rhys’s dad,” he mentioned.
I looked at him, confused. “Excuse me?”
Hendrix nodded. “We worked alongside him. Several years past.”
“He would always bring Rhys all over,” Tasha went on. “Any place he was unable to visit by himself, Brant made sure he never lacked the chance. Once… once he passed away, I attempted my hardest. Yet there existed activities I simply failed to duplicate for Rhys.”
